I made the logo. I've gotten lots of compliments on it, actually.

BTW, the lesson will be jitterbug (a pre-requisite of lindy hop). Lindy's too difficult to cover in one half-hour class. I will be offering private lessons for those interested. Arlette and I will probably do a demo of both lindy and bal.

Rob

Also, a couple extra details... The UB swing dance club has been around a little while before I moved back here, so I'm not "starting" the scene per se. The club became an official temporary club mid-2007 and an official permanent club just recently at UB, so they've been around since before I got here, though not long. They're doing an awesome job on campus and my hope is to expand the scene off campus as well.

The Savoy Ballroom in Harlem was the birthplace of what's often called "Savoy Stye"-"Lindy Hop". "Hollywood Style"-"Lindy Hop" is a more recently named style and there's a lot of differing opinions as to the differences between the two styles. I think the most popular notion is the hollywood style has a more pronounced slot and savoy style is more circular. Hollywood style is also considered smoother. I believe that West Coast Swing and Hollywood Style Lindy Hop are very similar, mainly because they were both inspired by Dean Collins. Lots of people in this region believe that lindy hop is inherently a fast dance and that's not true. Yes, you can dance it fast, but lindy hoppers today dance all speeds and many prefer the slow groovy/bluesy music over big band. If you take that to an extreme, you get into a fairly new style called "Lindy Groove". However, since lindy evolves on the dance floor, you will find many differences of opinion on what lindy is, what each move is called, what constitutes good style, etc. and it varies a lot by region. There's a really great lindy scene in Rochester and I've noticed marked differences in lots of different aspects of the dance, including what people feel the difference is between hollywood and savoy styles.

There are also a number of people in Rochester who know balboa, which is closer than Ithaca, but from what I've witnessed, they hardly ever do it. The students in Ithaca however are addicted to it as much as I am and practice it regularly.

The first Lindy Fix was a great success!!! There was excitement in the air. The atmosphere was really up-beat! People thought the venue and turnout were great. The beginner lesson filled the studio. Everyone danced with everyone. I couldn't have asked for more. We got compliments all around for putting on the dance, having done a good job spreading the work, having given a good lesson, having done a good DJ set, and of course for the dances we had with everyone. Multiple people signed up for the email list and expressed interest in private lessons and soon to be organized classes in lindy hop and even balboa. I now even have volunteers to help out with organizing the next Lindy Fix.

The next Lindy Fix is in 2 weeks on Monday, January 28th. After that, I've made arrangements for Lindy Fix to be a weekly event.

The thing which made my night was a round of comments I received at the end of the dance. There were about a half dozen or so people who stayed 'til the very end. For this, I rewarded them by handing out a few free passes to the next Lindy Fix for them to hand out to their friends. The president of the UB Swing Dance Club, Brian Conner, exclaimed upon receiving the passes: "Wow! I don't know why, but for some reason this makes me feel SO COOL!". Others immediately commented that it made them feel like insiders who will be looked up to when they hand out the free passes.

I have some free passes left over. They will be attached to a few fliers which I will be putting up on the Elmwood strip (and possibly in other random places) so be on the lookout. This is the only place they will be available (other than the ones distributed at the dance).

Rob